TurkishWIN Talks

Get ready to move an elephant. Aylin Gezgüç
has built a career out of finding solutions to problems that don’t have easy
answers, problems that sit like unmovable elephants in the corner. From
hydroelectric dams to the halls of Parliament, vocational schools and
#HeForShe, Gezgüç’s story reminds us not only of the tenets of social
responsibility, but also of our responsibility to ourselves to keep striving, and
keep asking questions.

Can a synthetic breast change the way that surgeons learn their craft? Materials scientist Dr. Özge Akbulut says yes, and her company Surgitate is showing the way. Akbulut is recreating the living, breathing intricacy of the human body out of the materials in her lab, and the results have big implications for medicine and for public health in underserved communities.

Think trailblazing bureaucracy is a contradiction in terms? Then meet Yadigar Gökalp İlhan. Aiding the victims of the Marmara Earthquake, working towards universal healthcare, helping millions of kids get an education, getting hundreds of thousands of economically disadvantaged people into the labor market – these are the things a determined and compassionate civil servant like Gökalp İlhan can do. Her stories of tough odds, sheer determination and the jaw-dropping sexism she faced as a woman working to make a difference will leave you ready to tackle your own obstacles.

Hasan Süel is the Chairman of Vodafone Turkey Foundation and Chief Corporate & Regulatory Affairs Officer of Vodafone Turkey. He passionately argues that access to technology is crucial in removing boundaries to empower women for participation in economy. He walks us through Vodafone programs that empower women with an amazing success story you may not want to miss.

This talk was recorded by İltek Media on International Women's Day as part of our "Guys Who Rock" talk series in 2014.

Yoruk Kurtaran, CEO of Community Volunteers Foundation(TOG) , reminds us that young people and their needs should be addressed today and policies should not be for young people tomorrow. He argues that young people should and could be able to participate in the society, economy and politics today – if they are provided with more opportunities outside of education, entrance barriers are lowered, and gender issues are mainstreamed.

This talk was recorded by İltek Media on International Women's Day as part of our "Guys Who Rock" talk series in 2014.

Matthias Scheffelmeier is a country director at Ashoka Europe, responsible for Turkey. He underlines the fact that women are quietly disrupting education, politics and economy with 42% participation in Ashoka Fellowship Program, with more equal footing than participation in the economy. Matthias invites everyone to support women social entrepreneurs who are making a difference in Turkey.

This talk was recorded by İltek Media on International Women's Day as part of our "Guys Who Rock" talk series in 2014.

Peri Ataman Holden's passion about girls' education led her to found Payda Öğrencilerle Birlikte, whose volunteers are personally mentoring teenage girls in their endeavor to access higher education -- an enterprise not only rewarding at a personal level, but also transformative at a societal level.

Derya Akalın Uysal shares with us how personal and professional challenges throughout have taught her valuable lessons about coping with crises, managing human resources, leadership and finding her own voice.

Cansen Başaran Symes has been the PwC Turkey leader and senior partner in charge of country operations since 1 July 1998. Cansen, shares her story and leadership lessons she has learned during her successful, 32-year long career at PwC.

Mike Harrell shares the secrets of success behind the Women's Leadership Development program at UPS Turkey. Under his leadership, UPS women leaders charged forward and now run a successful corporate women's initiative- a great model for others.

This talk was recorded by İltek Media on International Women's Day as part of our "Guys Who Rock" talk series in 2013.

Batuhan Aydagül passionately argues for an inclusive and out-of-box approach to close the gender gap in girls' schooling in Turkey. Setting the goal as the empowerment of girls to make the best choices for their own education, he calls for change agents and mentors to help Turkish men shed their masculine identities to turn them to worthy individuals for the Turkish woman.

This talk was recorded by İltek Media on International Women's Day as part of our "Guys Who Rock" talk series in 2013.

Tuğçe Uysal is our youngest TurkishWIN speaker. She is a ninth grader at Darussafaka who has been pursuing her passion in robotics since she was twelve. Tugce is one of the heros of Bilim Kahramanlari (Science Heros project).

Hakan Habip empowers change by running a science tournament, Bilim Kahramanlari, to enable science heros to transform Turkey to an idea society. Hakan, his wife Fatma and an army of volunteers run this platform to encourage children to think of scientific solutions to big problems, execute projects with team work and have fun along the journey.

This talk was recorded by İltek Media on International Women's Day as part of our "Guys Who Rock" talk series in 2013.

Ali Üstündağ tells us why he has the passion to give back. He generously supports NGOs and shares his imagination, time and resources of the wonderful Iltek team. If you are curious about the film mention in this talk, please follow this link. Ali and Iltek Media have been one of the lead supporters of TurkishWIN since 2011. We cannot thank him enough!

This talk was recorded by İltek Media on International Women's Day as part of our "Guys Who Rock" talk series in 2013.

Giovanni Guidetti is the head coach of the Vakifbank Gunes Sigorta, a team that won the 2013 CEV Volleyball Champions two days after this talk. He emphasizes the importance of listening, empathy for each woman’s individual circumstance, and the wisdom to manage the team as a unit as key elements of his coaching success.

This talk was recorded by İltek Media on International Women's Day as part of our "Guys Who Rock" talk series in 2013.

Monika Schmutz Kirgöz is the Consul General of Switzerland in Istanbul. In her talk, Monica navigates around gender, cultural and societal gaps surrounding our lives with a wonderful comparison between Switzerland and Turkey.

Charlotte Anne Lamprecht is the CEO of Casper Computer.Charlotte Lamprecth guides us through her adventure to grow as broad as she can as a business woman, a journey that brought her to Turkey as the CEO of Casper four years ago. She shares with us a comprehensıve career manual that only an engineer can compıle. If you are bored, you may be in luck. Find out why!
This talk was recorded by İltek Media.

Leyla Alaton, after graduation from Notre Dame de Sion French High School, completed her undergraduate studies in Fairleigh Dickinson University and her graduate education at New York University in social studies.

She is a true powerhouse and a believer of strong women networks. Listen to her thoughts and advice on the importance of prioritization, mentors, taking notes and more.

Ayla Göksel is the CEO of ACEV, a Turkish NGO working in early childhood, female literacy and parent training. She reflects on her career path in early childhood, female literacy and parent training. With the help of a state subsidy for childcare, the path she is currently paving will enable women with children to work, and thereby will increase women’s participation in the Turkish work force.

Seda Kaya Güler is the Founder of Rengarenkirmizi.com. She curates the history of women’s magazines in Turkey starting with Kadinca to “rengarenk kırmızı,” her latest magazine, which is funded by 1,000 TL contributions of 150 women and more counting.

Şafak Pavey tells us how innovation connects us to new and many indispensable friends and its role for equal right to life. She invites us to acknowledge and embrace the innovation that surrounds us every day.

Melek Pulatkonak is the Founder and Curator of the TurkishWIN. She outlines her strategic intuition for launching the TurkishWIN and shares with us her dream of growing it to 10,000 women with cultural, professional ties to Turkey.

Defne Ayas shares with us the connections between the goddess culture and our contemporary lived experience and what it is that we share with our ancestors. The talk promises to be a visual compendium from a variety of contexts, encompassing both Eastern and Western references, with a special focus on Asia Minor and Mesopotamia, and draws upon art, mythology, and spirituality.